'Supernatural' recap: Sam and Dean are at war in 'Citizen Fang'

THEN! Sam and Dean have been at odds over the latter's new friendship with vampire Benny. Before that, Sam's girl Amelia discovered that her supposedly dead husband Don was still alive. And before that, once-great hunter Martin lost his mind.

NOW! After a shaky start that felt like it was mopping up the loose ends of the disappointing season seven, this latest season of Supernatural has settled into a strong run of episodes - last week's cartoonish misstep aside. But time flies though and we've already reached the show's 2012 mid-season finale - would we end the year on a strong note or with a damp squib?

'Citizen Fang' picks up with reformed vampire Benny (Ty Olsson) - now living under the alias 'Roy' and working in a gumbo shack in his home town of Carencro, Louisiana. When a waitress at the shack is killed in a violent and bloody attack, Sam (Jared Padalecki) suspects that Benny is responsible, having set old ally Martin (Jon Gries) on the vamp's trail behind Dean's back.

Dean (Jensen Ackles) is understandably concerned about former psych inmate Martin's state of mind, but agrees to look into the incident. Martin's out of a jumpsuit and back in a hunter's threads - checked shirt and army surplus pants - but Dean still doesn't buy into his frantic ramblings. That said, things aren't looking good for Benny though - he's fled Carencro and appears to be leaving a trail of bloody corpses in his wake…

It's fairly obvious from the outset that Benny isn't at the center of the murderous rampage - that would be far too simple. But the meat of 'Citizen Fang' is in bringing Sam and Dean's bubbling resentments - and their differing opinions on Benny's continued existence - to a head.

The real culprit is revealed to be a fresh-faced bloodsucker called Desmond (Chad Rook), who's looking to becoming the new King Vamp and recruit veteran Benny into his nest. Benny's remained firmly on the wagon though, thanks in part to his renewed relationship with another gumbo shack waitress named Elizabeth - his unwitting great-granddaughter.

Ty Olsson continues to impress this week as Benny, striking a fine and wavering balance between charm and menace, so that - like Dean - you're left uncertain as to whether or not he can be trusted. Dean makes the right choice and believes in his friend, but is still forced to defend him to his brother and Martin, which only widens the rift between the Winchesters.

Still, it's a big leap when Sam teams with Martin in knocking Dean out cold in order to pursue Benny - in fact, it's too big a leap and we didn't buy it. The Winchesters have been through Hell before - literally - but ultimately have always had each other's backs, so to see Sam turn so easily on Dean feels wrong.

The only way to prove Benny's innocence is for him and Dean to take down Desmond, and though the vicious vamp is swiftly dispatched, there still remains the difficult question of what Benny will do next. At Dean's behest, he decides to head deep underground, away from the prying eyes of hunters, but is forced to return to Carencro when the unstable Martin grabs Elizabeth as a hostage.

Events build to an intense and emotional climax, with Benny apparently serving up his own head on a platter to save his kin. But when Dean returns to the gumbo shack, he finds only a terrified Elizabeth, Martin's savaged corpse and no sign of his friend. And that's where we leave Benny for 2012 - in the wind and possibly up to his old tricks. Let's hope it's not long before we see him again - he's Supernatural's best new recurring character since Castiel.

The rest of 'Citizen Fang' centres on Sam and his relationship with Amelia (Liane Balaban) - these protracted Amelia-centric flashbacks have proven divisive among Supernatural fans, but this writer's enjoyed them - it's been interesting to see how Sam functions away from Dean, away from the hunter's life, and these sequences have lent this season an emotional depth that it might otherwise have lacked.

When we pick up with the couple, Amelia's still torn over Don's miraculous return - she doesn't want to turn her back on Sam and Don is 'happy' for her to make her own choice, albeit in a slightly douchey, Sam-hating manner. Being the nice guy that he is, Sam ultimately decides to "do the right thing" and leave Amelia behind.

With the flashbacks having reached their zenith, the Amelia arc finally comes back around this week, as Sam receives a mysterious text from his estranged former lover begging for help, forcing him to abandon the hunt for Benny.

When Sam arrives at Amelia's home though, he finds her enjoying a life of domestic bliss with Don - the life he gifted to her but didn't want to have to face. It transpires that Dean sent the text to distract Sam from the Benny case - again, this feels like a terribly cruel trick for Dean to employ. The Winchesters have been at odds plenty of times before, but to have them being so openly hostile to each other robs Supernatural of one of its most enduring and appealing qualities - the brothers' unbreakable bond.

The odd manner in which Sam and Dean's relationship is being portrayed is our one big issue with this episode, but to be fair, it is pretty much our only issue in what is otherwise an engaging and affecting 42 minutes. Ignore that terrible, doesn't-quite-work pun title - 'Citizen Fang' is one of the most compelling Supernatural episodes in a long while.